Monday, October 5, 2009

The audience didn't seem to be any less appreciative of David Letterman on tonight's "The Late Show," as noted by a video posted on CBS.com. Don't think for a second that Dave wasn't aware what's on most people's minds. Prior to his monologue, he said the following:

"I’ll be honest with you folks, right now, I would give anything to be hiking on the Appalachian Trail. I get into the car this morning and the navigation lady wasn’t speaking to me. Ouch."

If you haven't been under a rock, you're aware of what David Letterman is speaking of. He was the victim of an extortion attempt late last week, one which forced him to reveal his previous affairs with staffers on his show. One such staffer was identified as Stephanie Birkitt, 34, who also had a later relationship with the alleged blackmailer, Robert "Joe" Halderman.

From transcripts released by his production company, we can glean that David Letterman is apologetic, but the effects on his ratings and advertisers have yet to be determined. Here's what Dave said:

“I’m terribly sorry that I put the staff in that position. Inadvertently, I just wasn’t thinking ahead. And, moreover, the staff here has been wonderfully supportive to me, not just through this furor, but through all the years that we’ve been on television and especially all the years here at CBS, so, again, my thanks to the staff for, once again, putting up with something stupid I’ve gotten myself involved in.

“Now the other thing is my wife, Regina (Lasko). She has been horribly hurt by my behavior, and when something happens like that, if you hurt a person and it’s your responsibility, you try to fix it. And at that point, there’s only two things that can happen: Either you’re going to make some progress and get it fixed, or you’re going to fall short and perhaps not get it fixed, so let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me.”

Regina Lasko and David Letterman were married only this year, although they have a son, Harry, who was born in 2003. Indeed, David Letterman has his work cut out for him. He has not just hurt Lasko, he has embarrassed her publicly, and he will have to work to earn back her trust.